Brian Stevens

Europe

Author: Parkinson's Life editorsPublished: 23 December 2015

Prep: Cook: Serves:

The winning images of a photo competition – held every year by charity Parkinson’s UK – show the surprising beauty and art behind scientific research

Parkinson’s UK’s annual photography competition, ‘Picturing Parkinson’s’, is held in memory of scientist Dr Jonathan Stevens, who lived with Parkinson’s disease and passed away two years ago, aged 34. This year’s winning and runner-up images reveal the complexities of the millions of nerve cells and proteins that make up the brain.

Brian Stevens, Jonathan’s father, who judged the entries with his family, said: “It’s a privilege to judge this competition that showcases the complexity of Parkinson’s research in a unique way. Jonathan was passionate about making research accessible and easy to understand, and we’re honoured that this competition helps to do this.”

The gallery below shows some of the stunning photographic highlights. The full set of submissions can be viewed here.

Gallery

Winner: 'Supernova' by Philipp Berg, University of Cambridge

Stem cells from a person with Parkinson’s can be turned into a basic brain cell that can produce millions of densely connected adult brain cells. The cell bodies are shown in blue, while the long tendril-like processes, which the cells use to communicate with other parts of the brain, are in red and green.

Runner up: ‘Fire in the forest’ by Sarah Brown, University of Sheffield

This is a section of a Zebrafish brain where the brain cells have been stained green. Zebrafish are used to study a protein in Parkinson’s called alpha-synuclein, shown in red.

Runner up: ‘The Culture Web’ by Dr Shi-Yu Yang, University College London

This picture shows what brain cells grown in a dish look like under the microscope. The different colours and shapes represent important features of these cells that are also present in the brains of people with Parkinson’s.

‘Blazing neurons’ by George Joseph, Keele University

This image shows the complexity of the developing brain cells. This research aims to help identify the environmental elements necessary to grow stem cells for use in therapeutic treatments for people with Parkinson’s and other neurodegenerative diseases.

‘Neurons blooming in culture’ by Philipp Berg, University of Cambridge

These human brain cells (seen here in red) have been made from stem cells. They allow us to study the function and dysfunction of proteins involved in Parkinson’s – in green. This image shows the synapses – proteins gathered at the sites of brain cell communication.

'Embers' by Dr Heather Mortiboys, Sheffield University

These skin cells show the intricate patterns made by the mitochondria – tiny energy-producing structures that power a cell. In Parkinson’s, these cellular batteries and the waste disposal system of the cell are faulty.

'Connections' by Federico Zambon, University of Oxford

This image shows brain cells that are created from the skin cells of people with Parkinson’s. Dopamine producing brain cells, the type most vulnerable in Parkinson’s, are shown in green. These cells can form huge clumps of cells that can even be seen with the naked eye.

IN THE NEWS

A study published in the ‘Journal of Clinical Investigation’ has suggested mechanisms that lead to Parkinson’s in adulthood, may begin much earlier than previously thought. The study, carried out by Northwestern University, Illinois, US, researched movement disorder spinocerebellar ataxia type 1 by genetically engineering a mouse to mirror the human disease. Researchers found that altering circuity in the cerebellum – an area of the brain that controls movements – set the stage for later susceptibility to neurological disease. Professor Puneet Opal, who worked on the study, said: “This is the first discovery of alterations in an adult-onset spinocerebellar disorder that stems from such early developmental processes. “This may well be generalisable to a whole host of other diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease, Huntington’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.”

Global Kinetics receives vital funding

Australian-based health company Global Kinetics has received a $AUS 7.75 million investment from the Australian Federal Government’s Biomedical Translation Fund. The investment will be used to commercialise its Parkinson’s KinetiGraph – a smartwatch-style device that continually tracks the involuntary movements of those living with the condition. In addition to the sum from the Australian government, Global Kinetics also announced they are to receive a grant from The Michael J Fox Foundation, Shake It Up Australia Foundation and Parkinson’s Victoria. Mark Frasier, senior vice president of research programmes at The Michael J Fox Foundation, said: “The experience of Parkinson’s varies day-to-day, hour-to-hour. An objective tool, such as the wearable PKG technology, that passively collects data on the experience of Parkinson’s disease could give patients and their doctors greater insight to calibrate treatment plans and improve outcomes.”

Smartphone app detects severity of Parkinson’s symptoms

A smartphone app– created by researchers from Johns Hopkins University, the University of Rochester Medical Centre and Aston University – can detect the severity of symptoms in people with Parkinson’s, according to a recent study. The study, which appeared in medical journal ‘JAMA’, found that the HopkinsPD app generated severity score levels which strongly correlated with standard movement tests given by physicians. HopkinsPD is expected to help medical professionals analyse Parkinson’s symptoms. Dr Ray Dorsey, neurologist at the University of Rochester, said: “Until these types of studies, we had very limited data on how people function on Saturdays and Sundays because patients don’t come to the clinic. “We also had very limited data about how people with Parkinson’s do at two o’clock in the morning or 11 o’clock at night because, unless they’re hospitalised, they’re generally not being seen in clinics at those times.”